Inside The Vatican

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has announced that Italy will transition into “phase 2” of its coronavirus lockdown, re-opening the manufacturing and construction industries on May 4, followed by libraries, museums, and some stores May 18. Not included in the re-openings were churches, causing outcry from the Italian bishops, who demanded a plan to resume public Masses. On this episode of “I...

In recent weeks, the Vatican has made it clear that it sees the coronavirus pandemic as a pressing call for the transformation of society. This past week, Pope Francis put together a task force with specific mandates for coordinating humanitarian aid, international relations, and the protection of the environment, all at the service of a broader vision of human solidarity in a time of pandemic. Th...

Pope Francis has focused his messages to the world this week on the importance of international cooperation and the sharing of resources in order to overcome the coronavirus pandemic and build a more equitable society. On this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” America’s Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and producer Colleen Dulle discuss the vision Pope Francis laid out in his new “plan for ri...

Molly Burhans, the founder and executive director of GoodLands, has created what may be the world’s largest set of Catholic geographic information. Her nonprofit organization has mapped church-owned properties around the world with a view towards using the church’s resources more responsibly. This work has taken on an increased importance during the coronavirus pandemic: As she explains on “Inside...

In his Easter messages, Pope Francis came out in support of a universal basic wage, relaxing economic sanctions, and forgiving the debts of poor countries. This week on the “Inside the Vatican” podcast, veteran Vatican reporter Gerard O’Connell joins producer Colleen Dulle to talk about these policies and to look back at the response to St. John Paul II’s call for debt forgiveness in 2000. Colleen...

Usually, Holy Week doesn’t require any extra work from the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. A separate office organizes the pope’s liturgies, and the guidelines used around the world stay the same from year to year. This year, though, with coronavirus bringing the widespread suspension of public Masses, several needs arose that only the Congregation f...

Pope Francis has given his first interview to the English-language media, which he was invited to give as a message to the anglophone world in this time of crisis. Host Colleen Dulle gives an update on what you can find in the interview, and on the new commission to study women deacons that the Vatican announced today. Links from the show: ‘A Time of Great Uncertainty’: An Interview with Pope Fran...

After almost five years of hearings and trials and appeals, Cardinal George Pell’s conviction of child sexual abuse was overturned April 6 with a unanimous decision from Australia’s highest court. Cardinal Pell has now left prison and will stay at a Carmelite monastery. Now that a final judicial decision has been made in the Australian legal system, the Vatican will need to revisit the canonical i...

As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, the Vatican is looking both to provide for people’s spiritual needs and to ensure justice for those on the margins of society. In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and producer Colleen Dulle give an update on two new cases of coronavirus in the Vatican. Then, they turn to the Vatican’s response, beginning with...

In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” America’s Rome correspondent Gerard O’Connell and producer Colleen Dulle cover how Pope Francis and other Vatican leaders are making a concerted effort to draw people’s attention to the major ethical questions arising from the coronavirus pandemic—especially, how to protect poor and vulnerable people amidst economic instability. “The governments that face t...

In the first special coronavirus update episode of “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican reporter Gerard O’Connell and producer Colleen Dulle discuss Pope Francis’ unprecedented “urbi et orbi” blessing given Friday, March 27. Colleen spoke with Gerry just after Pope Francis blessed “the city and the world.” Pope Francis spoke about how the world currently feels the way Jesus’ disciples felt when a...

As Italy’s death toll rises and Catholics worldwide find their access to churches and the sacraments limited, the Vatican has taken two initiatives to grant the faithful forgiveness of their sins. One measure from the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican’s “tribunal of mercy,” grants an indulgence specially for those who are suffering from the coronavirus and anyone who cares for them, even simply...

With more countries shutting down nonessential businesses because of the coronavirus, church leaders have faced tough decisions about whether to keep churches open to the faithful or to close them to mitigate the spread of infections. This week, Pope Francis weighed in after a Vatican cardinal announced that all of Rome’s churches would close. The pope prayed for pastors at his daily Mass the day...

Vatican City reported its first case of coronavirus last week after a non-Vatican resident passed through its medical center for a routine medical evaluation. Over the weekend, the Italian government announced a total lockdown and a ban on public gatherings, advising residents not to leave their homes. On “Inside the Vatican” this week, America’s Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell details what...

Pope Francis canceled his public audiences beginning Thursday, February 27 due to what his spokesman called a “slight indisposition.” Amid media reports that Francis had been tested for coronavirus, the pope addressed a smaller-than-normal crowd in St. Peter’s Square and said he had a cold. On this week’s “Inside the Vatican” podcast, Rome correspondent Gerard O’Connell describes the fear surround...

This week’s “Inside the Vatican” explores the relationship between faith, global politics, and the Catholic understanding of sainthood. First up, Colleen and Gerry discuss Pope Francis’ recent address to the Mediterranean bishops in the Southern Italian city of Bari. Speaking to a diverse group from North Africa, the Middle East, and Southern Europe, the pope addressed the many conflicts in the Me...

Pope Francis’ highly-anticipated exhortation “Querida Amazonia” or “Beloved Amazon” came out last week, sparking more conversation about what the document did not say, that is, anything on ordaining married men as priests, than what it did say. Pope Francis expressed his discontent with the media’s fixation on married priests to a group of American bishops last week. This week on the “Inside the V...

The Vatican published Pope Francis’ long awaited follow-up document to the Amazon Synod, “Querida Amazonia,” or “Beloved Amazon,” this morning. This document was highly anticipated because it was expected to include Pope Francis’ final decision on whether or not to allow the ordination of mature, Indigenous, married men as priests or of women as deacons in the Amazon region. Although the synod bis...

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and producer Colleen Dulle explain why Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s personal secretary and prefect of Pope Francis’ household, has been missing from public events in recent weeks. The Vatican said it was due to an “ordinary redistribution of his responsibilities,” but the timing seems to suggest it...

Last week, Pope Francis met with Argentinian President Alberto Fernández, whose country is currently weathering an economic crisis that has led to widespread hunger and a crippling national debt. In their meeting, Pope Francis expressed his solidarity with his home country and offered to help however possible. On this week’s “Inside the Vatican,” Gerry and I explain what form that help might take....

On a recent episode of “Inside the Vatican,” in the midst of Cardinal Robert Sarah’s book controversy, Gerry and I discussed how Archbishop Georg Ganswein’s role as Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s personal secretary—and often, by default, his gatekeeper and spokesman—has been called into question. Since the start of his papacy, Pope Francis has expressed a desire to keep his personal secretaries out...

Last week, Pope Francis appointed a woman to a top role in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State for the first time, while also upgrading that role from the department head level to the undersecretary level. On “Inside the Vatican” this week, Gerry and I take a look at these two decisions and what they reveal about Francis’ international priorities as well as his desire to include more women at leade...

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Gerry and I dedicate the entire episode to the questions surrounding the new book From the Depths of Our Hearts, written by Cardinal Robert Sarah with a contribution from Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. The book argues against the ordination of married men as priests, a subject that Pope Francis is currently considering as he prepares his final document following up...

Last week, a viral video circulated on social media showing Pope Francis slapping the hand of a woman who yanked his arm as he walked through a crowd in St. Peter’s Square. On “Inside the Vatican” this week, Gerry and I explain what happened and discuss the pope’s apology for losing his patience. Then, we turn to the growing tensions between the United States and Iran following the assassination o...

Happy New Year from Inside the Vatican! For our New Year’s Day episode, Gerry and I are taking a look back at some of the biggest Vatican stories of 2019. We start with February’s Vatican summit on the protection of minors, which Gerry and I covered together in Rome. We talk about the steps Pope Francis has taken to follow up on that meeting, including the elimination of the “pontifical secret” in...